This original transcription of the vital records of the Town of Winfield, 1847 - 1849, was made by Kathy Huxtable, Town of Columbia editor. Reading through and transcribing these from the original took Kathy a long time to do and we really appreciate her effort to bring more official records to the site. We hope this list provides clues to ancestral location and helps you better formulate questions when visiting Mohawk Valley societies or ordering mail searches. If you recognize anyone on this list, please drop a line to Martha so we can note it on this page.

As you scan the listings you'll see unusual spellings. They're not typos but can be attributed to well-known difficulties in reading fragile records with old handwriting, as well as assumptions made by the registrars of the deaths. If a spelling differs from that of your ancestral surname, or deaths didn't take place in the town you thought your ancestors were from, don't pass them by. Jot them down...just in case. A date and location from these vital records can be used to search in the 1850 census or the info may turn out useful to others searching your surnames.

During years 1847 - 1850 some New York State counties officially recorded information about births, marriages and deaths. Then they just stopped. Not all counties preserved this early information so each county must be taken on a case-by-case basis in making inquiries of societies. Required birth registration didn't start in New York State until the 1880s, over 25 years after the 1847 - 1849 events were recorded, and wasn't really enforced until 1900. New York State death registration wasn't required until just after 1900.

*** Official death certificates did not exist in New York State in 1847 - 1849.***

*** Neither Kathy nor I have further info on the persons named below. ***